Chris Poland is the center of a new project from Cleopatra Records, Nuclear Messiah. The debut record, Black Flame, is out April 24 and features Poland collaborating with 34 musicians from across five decades of heavy metal. (Legendary actor William Shatner appears as well.)
Among the players who appear are Sebastian Bach, Pat Travers, Derek Sherinian, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Mick Box, Joel Hoekstra, Pat Travers, Vinnie Moore, Steve DiGiorgio and Tim "Ripper" Owens. Poland’s former Megadeth bandmate David Ellefson appears as does fellow former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman.
In addition to his work as a solo artist, Poland has been a member of the fusion band OHM since 1998 and continues to write, record and perform live with that outfit, which, he says, will be releasing new music in the not-too-distant future. Additionally, he has plans to release a re-imagined version of his 1990 solo LP, Return to Metalopolis.
Poland is also manager of the Los Angeles 7th Street Rehearsal studio, overseeing 200 rehearsal studios and roughly a dozen control room studios.
We discussed the making of Black Flame, what impact, if any, Edward Van Halen and Randy Rhoads had on his playing, how impactful 1986 was for heavy music, and his ongoing passion for guitar.
Host/Producer: Jedd Beaudoin
Theme music: Torin Andersen
